Too small to really see much...It did catch my eye, but when looking as close as I could, it seemed that the "fluffy" bright white areas were a distraction...too soft for the rest of the image.

Rick_Massarini

02-07-2009, 04:33 AM

While the image carries an interesting design, I believe that the lack of overall sharpness will hurt the score. From what I can see from the small image posted here, it looks like the only thing that is in sharp focus is the end of one stamen. It might carry more impact if all of the stamens were sharp instead of only the end of just one. Just my opinion.

Stewart_Schulze

02-07-2009, 06:26 AM

your eye goes to the contrast so my eye seems to want to go the the upper right corner and the extreme out of focus hurts the image

Lisa_Louise

02-07-2009, 07:53 PM

Stuart, Rick and Dave,

Ok, I appreciate your input. I do have a question that I will put to anyone interested in answering. I am looking through the PPA Loan Collection of 1995, and there are some interesting soft images by Ruth Wittmayer of flowers. I was wondering if this was cropped differently could it be a possibility? Or are soft images not something you would recommend.
Lisa Louise

Rick_Massarini

02-07-2009, 08:13 PM

Images that have a soft overall feel do score well in competition if it is clear that the softness is an intentional artistic rendition of the image. Where softness hurts the image is where it appears to the juror that the softness is due to a lack of depth of field insufficient to incorporate the important parts of the image. In that case, the lack of sharpness can be interpreted as a technical issue. If the overall image is soft from front to back, and it is an obvious use of an artistic technique, the jurors will recognize that and will reward the image appropriately.

I am familiar with the makers work you referenced, and most of her floral images incorporate extreme close ups and an overall soft feeling, It is obvious from her images that the soft effect was intentional - that is her personal style, and it was well executed.

Lisa_Louise

02-07-2009, 08:28 PM

Rick,
very nice, thank you. I am still learning then, any suggestions? I seem to be very frustrated. What would you have done? I like the image, and I understand each point of view. If I said composition is easy and technical is the hardest part, would that make sense to anyone...
Lisa:confused:

Dave_Cisco

02-07-2009, 09:21 PM

Stuart, Rick and Dave,

I couldn't have said it better than Rick.:)

Dave_Cisco

02-07-2009, 09:26 PM

Rick,
very nice, thank you. I am still learning then, any suggestions? I seem to be very frustrated. What would you have done? I like the image, and I understand each point of view. If I said composition is easy and technical is the hardest part, would that make sense to anyone...
Lisa:confused:

You are doing what is necessary.......trying and asking questions.
For me, learning was going to every competition I could, sit on the front row, and take lots of notes. Do that 4-6 times a year and average all of the judges comments. In 4-5 years, it all started to make sense.:D

Rick_Massarini

02-08-2009, 01:33 AM

As Dave said, Learning is a long process - I'm nearing the end-game and I'm still learning.

I heartily recommend sitting in on print competitions - any and all - they are, by far, the best education that you can get (that's why I'm always encouraging members what a great educational experience it is working as a print handler at the annual PPA International Judging. I've been doing it for many many years, and even though I find myself doing more work and less observing now than in the past, every year, whenever I get a few minutes break from the work of the judging, you'll find me sitting in the back of a judging room or in the back of the room of the judging class. Being behind the curtain, spinning prints while watching and listening to the jurors debate the merits of images all day long for a week is an awesome educational opportunity. You've got to cover all of your own travel expenses and rooming charges, but you do get a couple of service merits and an unparalled education. If you're interested in volunteering, drop Jim Dingwell (PPA-PEC Coordinator) an email - OK - now that I've finished my little commercial promoting print handling at the International Judging - back to flowers...

Flowers - Flowers are difficult to shoot for the simple reason that they're fragile and don't last very long. It's not like a still life of, say glassware, like we are looking at in another thread. With flowers, if you don't get it the first time, they wither up and die and you can't go back a week later, change the lighting and reshoot that perfect blossom again because it's gone. With flowers, the best way is to err on the side of excess - put the camera on a tripod and shoot the flower at every aperture from wide open to stopped all the way down, from every angle you can - sidelit, backlit and frontlit - then while the flower is withering, you can pick the one that looks the best from the set. Once you get a few of these series under your belt, you'll begin to see what works best and you can refine your style to get the kind of results you want with less exposures and less time spent pooring over a ton of files - but that time spent is a valuable educational exercise into understanding light, and aperture vs depth of field in extreme close ups.

Lisa_Louise

02-08-2009, 01:33 AM

Dave,
Thank you, thats my plan for March. I will definitley sit in during the judging!
Lisa Louise

Lisa
As they all said this image is too small to tell how sharp the stamin are. If the stamin are sharp the rest can be soft and still do well. I would crop it as shown here. I lightened the green areas and added detail to some of the white areas. If you are wanting to photograph flowers like this, go into the florest and choose the exact bloom you want. In this case I would have looked for one that showed minimal dark green areas as they compete with the stamin for the attention. Next look at those loan books, notice how most of the time the center of interest is not in the center of the image. On a high res file you can run a filter like pallet knife (small in size) and it will give a sharpness to the bloom and make the petals reallistic.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p308/imager410/Lousie.jpg

Lisa_Louise

02-08-2009, 01:55 AM

Keith,
All I can say is NICE! I am still considering passing on this one. I found this flower at a Marina in MO, when I was out on a walk. It was last spring and it was popping out of some rocks. I have no idea what kind of flower it is. I do like the idea of visiting the florist. Thank you.
Lisa Louise